One Up
by bobissa
Summary: Kara, Lee and Helo at the Academy. Pilot exploits! Lee/Kara
1. Bunk Mates

Disclaimer: Don't own a single bit.

Notes: Though this is now a chapter/installment piece, it did not start out that way. This and the next chapter were merely companion pieces, but now they've been expanded into an ongoing thing, which I've never tried before.

Bunk Mates

It was always the smell that hit him first. Whether he was awake or pretending to be asleep, the familiar aromatic combination of sweat, cigars, whatever cheap liquor was being served at Brim's that night, and, usually, sex filled his nostrils just before the mattress sagged beside him and a warm body draped itself across his. She was practically dead to the world as soon as she crawled into his bunk, and he might have believed that if not for the snoring. Now those smells and sounds could lull him to sleep, and in the morning she would be gone.

The first time Lee found himself an unexpected early morning bunk host was in their second semester. By that time Kara had already loosened up the notoriously restrained Apollo enough that he was quite as intimate with hack as she was. She might have ruined his reputation early on, but he never slacked in his studies and therefore never went out on week nights. So when Party Every Night Starbuck fell into his bunk at three a.m. the night before a Tactics exam and promptly passed out across him with the snore of a Gemonese black elephant, Lee stayed awake trying to focus on that rhythmic sound rather than the breasts barely contained in a thin tank top that were pressed against his bare chest or the arm thrown across him or the smooth leg wrapped around his. He closed his eyes and tried not to move while telling himself over and over again that the only reason she was there was because she was too drunk to climb up to her bunk above his. Gods, was she always this warm and heaving and soft? When he finally fell asleep it was near dawn, and by the time he woke up hours later she was nowhere to be found and he had missed his test.

It started becoming a ritual a few nights a week, and Lee made a point of learning when Kara was going out so he'd at least have some kind of warning that his bunk would be servicing two that night. And it was always the same routine: Kara would pass out in the bunk below hers and be gone before its official occupant woke up. Neither of them ever said a word about it or even acknowledged it while it was happening, but by their third year they were StarbuckandApollo, and Lee was pretty sure everybody else was talking about it.

So that night, when Kara tossed him her dirty socks and said, "I'll be at Brim's with Karl and Pie Face," Lee almost expected her to add, "so don't wait up." Instead she winked at him and left him to his books. He smiled to himself at their little routine and decided once again not to think about what exactly it was or what it meant to have his best friend snuggle up with him, but to just look forward to having his dreams interrupted by the smells and sounds of Starbuck.

Try as he might, Lee Adama couldn't get to sleep. They had been up in the air all day and he had turned in early exhausted. He tried reading and going over formation drills in his head, but he mostly just listened to his classmates come in and gossip or bitch about an instructor or drunkenly giggle before retiring to their own bunks.

Long after every light was out, Lee had almost drifted off when he heard his curtain being pulled back and the mattress shift beside him. He smiled and didn't even open his eyes as he waited to be engulfed by pleasant weight and warmth and skin. After a moment he opened his eyes expecting to see her dark shape falling towards him, but what he got instead was Kara staring at him directly across the pillow.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"So Karl asked me a weird question tonight," she whispered. Lee rubbed the heal of his hand over his eyes and blinked at her. Was she actually talking to him? This had to be a dream. She couldn't be lying beside him talking about Helo.

"Oh?" was all he could manage.

"Yeah. He wanted to know if he was a better frak than 'the Great Apollo'."

"What?" he coughed out.

"You been writing it in the sky with your viper?"

"Writing what exactly?"

"Try again," she said as she punched him in the arm.

"Ow!"

"Shut the frak up! Some of us are trying to sleep!" someone across the room whisper-yelled. Trying to sleep. He had been doing that all night. Only not with her.

"Ya know, I didn't think you had it in you. Guess you're not the gentlemen I always pegged you for." He still just gaped at her, but she grinned. "Gods, and a liar too!"

"I didn't—"

"It's kinda hot." Whatever he was about to say in his defense completely slipped from his mind as she rolled towards him and pushed him down into the mattress.

"Don't you think it's weird that I always end up here with you," she swung her leg over both of his to straddle him, "right after I've frakked some poor first year senseless."

Lee had stopped breathing. Any minute now he was going to die from the lack of oxygen, he just knew it. He laid there immobile, gripping the sheets hoping she didn't actually sit all the way down on him. Kara put her hands on either side of his head and leaned in so that her mouth hovered over his. He could feel the heat of her breath, and as he finally sucked in some hot air, he realized that there was no alcohol on her breath. She was stone cold sober, and he was screwed.

"Kara, I don't—"

"Come on, Lee. Don't you ever wonder why you get the cuddle and they don't?" She leaned in again and their lips bushed lightly against each other. Before he did something he couldn't take back, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back.

"We shouldn't."

"Shouldn't? I thought we already had. Couldn't possibly do any harm now." He could see her smirk even in the darkness of his cramped bunk. She leaned towards him again and kissed him hard and deep. He responded by slipping his tongue into her open mouth and tasting just how sober she really was. When he heard a small moan come from her throat and he grabbed her shoulders again and pushed her off of him.

"I never said anything to anybody. You just snore. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out you were in my bunk three nights a week. Besides, Helo's the one who always used to brag about frakking Starbuck," he said with a slight edge to his voice.

Kara didn't respond for a moment. It was just long enough for Lee to realize she'd never crawl into his bunk again.

"Well, I guess that's too frakkin' bad, 'cause at least Helo knows what to do with Starbuck when she's on top of him in his bunk." She glared at him and he made to lie back down but she stopped him. "Uh uh, Flyboy. You're sleeping up top. This bunk's mine now." When he didn't move she leaned toward him as if she were going to kiss him but stopped short. "Get. Out. Now."

* * *

When Lee woke up the next morning he not only had a new, higher view of the bunkroom, but also a nice view of his books and clothes and other items strewn across the floor and table and bench and most of the room. As Lee jumped down to retrieve his wayward pants, he noticed Kara had already gone but saw Helo coming through the door grinning from ear to ear.

"Frak Apollo. The wife kick you out of bed? " Helo said laughing.

"Don't let her hear you say that. I wouldn't want you on the receiving end of her wrath too."

"Damn straight. I only told her what you asked me to tell her. So I scratched your crazy back last night, where's my itch relief?" Helo asked cocking an eyebrow. "You know my price."

"Keep your shirt on Karl. You'll get your lollies and beer."

"You know, people have got you all wrong around here. They think Starbuck is the crazy one messing with you, but you are truly frakked in the head. No person in their right mind would purposefully piss Starbuck off that badly. So you could what? Tease her a little?"

"Who said anything about teasing? " Lee smirked.

"Holy Gods! Is _that_ why I just saw her punching the hell out of a bag in the gym?"

"Let's just say I got her right where I wanted her."

Helo laughed again and slapped Lee on the shoulder. "Frakked in the head," he said as he pointed to his temple and made for the door. "Oh, and Lee," he turned before reaching the door, "I'd sleep with one eye open for a while. Starbuck has a nasty sense of humor when it comes to revenge."


	2. Night Out

Disclaimer: Don't own a single bit.

Night Out

He squinted, and through his swollen eyelids he could make out a shaft of light peeking through dark curtains. He was in a bunk. And his feet were in something cold. Something wet. And there was a smell. A Gods-awful smell coming from… him?

Lee opened his eyes again and sat up rubbing his hands over his face. He pushed the curtains open a little wider for more light and turned towards the wall shelf looking for a bottle of water. This was not his bunk. Whoever lived here liked the Tauron Tigers enough to have a small poster of the team up on the wall; Lee barely understood the rules of pyramid.

Where the frak was he? How did he get there? And why was he wearing nothing but a thin sheet? Gods, what the hell happened to him last night?

Instead of completely panicking, Lee put on the three sizes too large track pants and Tigers sweat shirt he found next to the pillow and snuck out of the foreign bunkroom as quickly and quietly as possible. He knew that stealth ops class wouldn't be as useless as Starbuck said it would be.

As Lee came out of the building and stepped into the morning light, a pain shot through his eyes into his head and a wave of nausea washed over him. He really hoped last night had been worth it. Kara had coerced him into going to Brim's with she and Helo and promised to buy the first two rounds. He remembered downing those shots one after the other almost as soon as he walked through the door. Beyond the game of pool that followed and the dance Kara had dragged him onto the floor for it was all a bit blurry.

Lee walked between buildings and took shaded paths trying to lay low, but as he came around a corner he stopped and realized there was no way to avoid walking out into the busy quad to get back to his room. He bit his lip, pulled up the loose track pants, and headed straight into the light. He had to be one lucky bastard because he could see precious few people. Classes must have been going on or maybe the mess was serving real food for a change. Lee walked with his head down, but it was called running the gauntlet for a reason.

"Ow! Horsey tired this morning?" a woman called out. Nah, she wasn't shouting at him.

"Yeah, how's the hang over Apollo?" a second female voice called. Frak, did Starbuck take him to a rodeo last night or something?. He looked up to see a group of female cadets giggling and staring at him as they walked in a huddle towards him. One of them cried "yee haw!" and another yelled out "pony boy." Lee just forced a smile and half waved to them.

"Any of you ladies seen Starbuck today?" Lee called to them. No point in pretending he was anything other than the hung over retch they thought he was, might as well get some information out of it. The girls just giggled louder and picked up their pace as they walked by him. "Ohhh kay. Very helpful," he muttered.

Lee walked on and rubbed his stiff neck. What had been in those first two drinks he had? He wasn't quite the fish Kara was, but he could hold his liquor. He took great pride in the fact that Helo, who seemed to be twice everybody's size, usually crapped out two drinks before he did. As he came to the statue in the middle of the quad, he spotted a familiar face coming towards him.

"Hey, man! Great party at Semo's last night. You and Starbuck were the highlight of night, definitely. One to remember," a fellow cadet named Murphy said to a dumbstruck Lee. "Get some coffee, you look like shit," the man laughed and shook his head. "Later Apollo." Murphy walked on before Lee could ask if he'd seen Starbuck, and he stopped to think if he could picture himself doing anything with Starbuck at a party that would be classified as a highlight or "one to remember." Yes, he could certainly picture something, but he was sure that would be one thing he wouldn't want an audience for.

Still pondering memorable things he could do with Starbuck and wondering who the hell Semo was, Lee almost walked right into Pie Face. "Whoa man. You raid this guy's wardrobe?" Pie Face said motioning to one of the men standing behind him. Lee looked up and saw Helo with a sucker in his hand and a grin so wide it was threatening to reach around his head.

"What? No, I just sorta found these this morning."

"Really? 'Cause the only other guy around here besides Helo who likes the Tigers is Freight Train," Pie Face said.

"Freight Train? Do I know him?" Helo asked.

"Big guy. About 250 pounds. He's a Viper jock, not some girly Raptor rider," Pie Face laughed, and before Helo could even protest, he added, "Not including you there, big fella." Helo laughed but punched him in the shoulder anyway.

"Does Freight Train bunk in Boyd Hall?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, he's in with Boots and Sugar Shock. Why?"

"No reason," Lee squeaked out. It wasn't possible. He couldn't have woken up naked in the biggest, meanest cadet's bunk. No way. That was a dream. But then again he _was_ wearing an enormous Tigers sweatshirt.

"Hey, we gotta report to Maj. Butler at 0900, so we'll catch you later. Great time last night though. Lee, dude, you are the king! You gotta tell me how you do it, but next time, okay buddy?" Pie Face and his friend walked away laughing and motioning excitedly with their hands.

"Have you seen Kara?" Lee asked Helo as soon as they were alone.

"Me? I thought she was with you all night."

"Really? Because I remember drinking at Brim's and the next thing I know I'm waking up smelling like a dumpster."

"Oh man, you really don't remember Semo's or that group of Saggitarons outside of Brim's or that—"

"No, nothing. And I need to find Kara."

"What you need is some coffee and a shower. Oh, and try carrot juice. It always helps my hang overs." Helo smiled but Lee looked like he might pass out or puke. "You really can't remember anything? Wow. You and Starbuck were practically glued to each other at Brim's, and you guys were out of control at Semo's party. I knew you were pretty out of it, but I haven't seen her that drunk since we found out we got into the Academy."

"What exactly did Apollo and Starbuck do? And who the hell is Semo?"

"You should really ask Starbuck. Look, I have class in about ten minutes, but if I see her I'll tell her you're looking for her." Lee didn't answer but just looked down and shook his head in resignation. "Seriously man, get some coffee and a shower. You can't possibly feel any worse, right?"

* * *

"Yeah. Ok, Helo. Thanks," Lee said before walking away. Helo was surprised at how dazed the normally calm and together Apollo looked, and he was starting to believe that Lee really had no idea what he did last night.

Helo watched Lee walk all the way down the walkway past the fountain and out of sight. He waited another moment just to be sure and walked to a large tree 10 yards away. He found Kara leaning against it with a nice vantage point to the old statue.

"Here you go," she said as she handed Helo a wad of bills and a bag of lollipops. "I always pay up." Kara laughed and said, "Oh my Gods, did you see his face when Pie Face was talking about Freight Train?"

"How did you manage that anyway?"

"That big baby owes me his first born. He is a truly awful Triad player." Starbuck grinned and Helo laughed as he counted the bills. "Thanks for rounding everybody up. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Hey, you know I only do it for the cash and your love."

"Best 50 qubits I ever spent."

"Tell me one thing though. How many people saw you do what you did with Lee at Semo's?"

"What?"

"I left early with Sasha and Murphy told me this morning that you and Lee were the best part of the party. He said something about shots of ambrosia and your bra and I don't even know what."

"I have no idea what he's talking about." She said it with a straight face, but Helo knew even she wasn't that good of a liar.


	3. Just a Game

Disclaimer: Don't own a single bit.

Just a Game

"Frak you, Karl!"

"I'm just sayin'. The way I hear it, 'Sir' is sorta _your_ game now," Helo chuckled through his words. There was a quick rustling noise and a sharp whack followed by a yelp.

Lee stepped through the open door just in time to see Helo rub his bare arm and Kara smirk. She was sitting on one of the beds that had been pushed against the wall of the small room and didn't even look up as he came in. She wasn't really smiling now but she still looked amused, like she had just gotten away with something. A plastic table with seating for six had been set up in the middle of the room, and Helo and his roommate, Pie Face, sat around it in chairs squished between walls, beds and a desk.

"Hey! You made it!"

"Yeah. Thanks for inviting me." Lee stretched out his hand and tried to step further into the room to shake Helo's, but he was blocked by the corner of the nearest bed.

"Oh, sorry man. We have the smallest frakking room on campus. Just jump over it." As he stepped up onto and over the bed he nervously wiped his hand on his pants. What the hell was he doing? He had just stuck out his hand to one of his best friends like an ass. Where was all this formality coming from? Careful, or they'd start to call him Sunny again, in reference to where that invisible stick must be shoved. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he was glad he ended up with the call sign of a god rather than his pre-Starbuck, stuck up alter ego's moniker. Sure the name Apollo came with an irritating amount of false pretention, but Lee preferred that to long, embarrassing explanations that included the phrase "where the sun don't shine."

He awkwardly squeezed his way past the desk and into a chair at the table. "How did you guys end up with a private room anyway?" Lee quietly asked while Pie Face fiddled with the wireless. "I always wondered what made you two so frakkin' special."

Helo leaned toward him and spoke barely above a whisper. "That guy's father is so godsdamned high up in the fleet that he'd make your pop look like a grease-licking knuckledragger." Lee mouthed the word "wow" and Helo nodded. They both watched Pie Face simultaneously tune the wireless and pick something out of his ear and look at it. Lee tried his best to suppress a smile but Helo let his shine through as he brought his finger to his lips and shhhed. Lee could keep a secret and he understood the urge to want to be known for yourself and not for your father. Of course Pie Face might be better off being known as his father's son than the cadet who can eat the most mystery meat from the mess without hurling.

"You got here just in time. Bobcat and Nanny should be back in a minute with the beer," said Pie Face turning back around to the table. He was wearing his usual sly smile and the ugliest knit cap Lee had ever seen.

"Uh yeah, Kara and me were just deciding on the uh, game," Helo said turning to her at the last word. She glared at him, he chuckled, and she went back to picking at her nails. There was obviously something that Lee was missing, but that was common with Karl and Kara. They had known each other since school and acted more like brother and sister than just old friends. He knew many of their inside jokes – more than most people – but he still felt left out of the loop sometimes.

"We decided on Triad," Kara spoke for the first time. She was still looking down at her nails. So it was going to be like that? If this was how the whole evening was going to go, then Lee knew there was a choice to be made here. Hmmm. Should he risk it, or should he go on ignoring her as it seemed she was going to keep ignoring? What the hell, right? He was a young hot shot cadet, and you only live once.

"Oh, hey Kara. I didn't see you there." Lee feigned surprise. "You been here this whole time?"

"Funny. You're funny," she said finally looking up. Good ole Starbuck. She was never one to take anything lying down. "Anybody ever tell you you're a frakkin' riot?" Starbuck the Smart-ass was coming out to play. Lee smiled. Maybe this night wouldn't be a waste after all.

"Come on Starbuck. Get off my bed and pull up a chair," said Pie Face. "We don't bite."

"Well maybe _I_ do," she drawled as she rose from the bed. Helo and Lee laughed, but Pie Face, open mouthed and dazed, watched her progress closely until she climbed into the chair next to Helo. Lee was the closest to him, so he snapped his fingers in front of his face. Pie Face shook his head and muttered something as he busied himself with the deck of cards on the table in front of him.

The four of them sat around the table in silence for a minute or two, each apparently absorbed in their own thoughts. Who knew a group of high flying pilots could get this crazy on game night? Pie Face shuffled his cards, Lee stared blankly at the wall, Kara drummed her fingers on the table, and Helo bit his lollipop as he glanced between them every few seconds. Awkward. Yep, that was definitely the word.

"Hey, did you guys catch the CPL game last night?" Pie Face asked, done with his card shuffling and oblivious to the tension filling the small space. "I swear I thought Helo was gonna cry, 'cause when the Tigers suck, they suck hard."

"That ref had to have been either blind or on the C-Buc's pay roll. Every call he made was in Caprica's favor. It was a damn bloodbath," Helo replied.

"See? He's getting all misty," Pie Face laughed. "Big Man, you ever think the Tigers are just _that_ bad?"

Helo lunged across the table at his roommate and, after some struggling in the cramped room, had him in a head lock against the desk. As Helo shook the other man and repeated "say it," Lee thought back to the last time he had given any serious thought to the Tauron Tigers. Slipping Freight Train's sweatshirt and pants into the right laundry bin without being seen was much harder than it should have been. He had done everything in his power to not think about the Tigers for the past two weeks.

"The Tigers don't give a frak what I think! They just rock!" Pie face shakily yelled. Helo released him, and as they straightened their clothes two women walked through the door carrying large bags.

"Booze and food's here guys," the tall redhead said. Lee recognized her as the girl most frequently attached to Helo these days. The shorter blonde was a bit harder to place. He was sure he'd seen her around somewhere. Maybe they had a class together. Nope. Nothing. It didn't really matter anyway; Lee just wanted to know which one's Bobcat?

"There are a few more bags down in the car," the redhead said looking expectantly at Helo.

"That's my cue." Helo hopped up on one of the beds and made for the door. Kara coughed and Lee could have sworn he heard a muffled "whipped" in there.

"Let me help you, man," Lee said, and he followed Helo out the door leaving Pie Face in a small, cramped room with three women.

* * *

"So uh, Helo, thanks again for inviting me tonight. I feel like I haven't seen you in a while."

"No problem, man. You are always welcome. But you're right. It has been a few weeks." Helo laughed and pointed down the left row of cars in the large parking lot.

"What?"

"I don't know. I was just thinking about the last time you came out with us. I promise not to let you drink that much this time."

"Don't worry. I'll stick with beer tonight." Lee tried to cover his embarrassment with a smile, but Helo frowned at him. They reached the car and went to the back doors on either side of it.

"Listen, does Kara seem off to you lately?" Helo asked before Lee could open his door. "I mean, you saw her up there, and that's just not Starbuck. You know, I think I actually saw her reading a book the other day. At the library."

"I don't really know. I haven't seen her much." He paused and let his own words sink in, and he realized he hadn't really seen her at all in the past few weeks. Not since that night at the bar and Semo's infamous party. Sure, he had to have seen her some with her bunk being right above his, but she always came in after he was asleep and usually left before he got up in the morning. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was avoiding him, but cadets get busy, and surely at one point they had gone longer than a few weeks without really hanging out. Or speaking.

"I've been remembering things," Lee blurted out. "From that night. It's not completely a blur anymore." He didn't really feel like he was changing the subject. Maybe he was feeling guilty for not noticing that Kara was "a little off" or maybe he was realizing that he was being weird with Helo because of his absence from Kara's life lately. Whatever it was, Lee felt like he owed Helo something, like maybe Helo knew more about Kara than he ever could.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I remember most of Brim's and how wasted Kara was when we left. What the hell made her think she could take on a group of five Saggitarons who were all twice her size."

Helo chuckled. "That's our Starbuck." They both laughed and shook their heads and opened the doors of the car to grab the bags. Shutting the doors and turning to go back inside, Helo stopped and put his bag down on the trunk of the car. "Wait. So you remember Semo's?" he asked with a grin.

"Yeah. I know we got there, met Semo, had some more to drink and danced to some gods awful Aerilon music. I think I knocked over a lamp."

"You don't remember me leaving with Sasha or what game you guys were playing when I left?"

"Game? No, I don't remember any game." Lee tried to concentrate and think about a game he would have played, but nothing was coming. Did they play triad? Oh gods, he probably lost so much money.

"Okay. Whatever you say, _Sir_," Helo said as he picked up his bag and began to walk back towards the building.

"Sir?" Lee whispered to himself as he followed Helo. Sir. He hadn't played a game of "Sir" since first year. Did they play "Sir" at Semo's?

Holy gods of Kobol. Lee stopped in his tracks and it took all he had not to drop the bag of food he was holding. He remembered. The picture was becoming clearer by the second. Semo's and dancing and shots of ambrosia and a dangerous little game called "Sir."

"Apollo?" Helo called back to him from the door. "You coming?" Lee nodded his head and slowly turned it towards Helo.

"Sorry. Yeah, I'm coming." Lee willed his frozen, shocked legs to move and before he knew it he was climbing the four flights of stairs back up to Helo's little room and the person who had been avoiding him for weeks. Now he knew exactly why. He smiled to himself as he thought about what Kara what do if she were in his position. Oh yeah, this evening would be very interesting. He had to remember to make it a point to tell Pie Face that Starbuck really did bite.


	4. Playing Nice

Disclaimer: Don't own a single bit.

If Helo didn't get his ass back up to this room in the next ten seconds she was not going to be responsible for what would happen to its other occupants. If he left Lee down in the parking lot, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the worlds either. Was it bad that she was picturing him stuck in Red Head's car banging on the windows and screaming?

It's not like Helo told her Lee was going to be there. This was game night. Fun night. The night they got to forget about training exercises and simulators and combat strategy. Who was she kidding? She did that every night. The fact was, Helo had just told her he was inviting a friend. That big bastard sure was sneaky sometimes.

Sneaky but smart. He knew Kara, and he knew when something was bothering her. It was a good thing he had such a subtle way of letting her know that he knew, or she might be obliged to kick his ass.

"What do you ladies say to getting this party started right now?" Pie Face looked expectantly around the room, but the red head just glared at him and then turned back towards the blonde as if he had never even said a word. He seemed oblivious to the slight and began unpacking the liquor from the bags. Kara chuckled and decided she might actually try to be social. Could be fun.

"Hey, Bobcat. You go up against Rocco in the sims today?"

"Yeah. That frakker blew out my wing in the last three seconds. He laughed the whole way to the Mess." Kara made a sympathetic face like she understood poor Bobcat's humiliation, but let's face facts: Kara had no idea what it was like to lose in the simulators. In most situations, she would have laughed and said "I'd have smoked your ass too," but this was Helo's girl, and he had specifically asked her to be nice. So she was going to be nice. Like it's hard or something.

"And he arrives just in the nick of time with nourishment!" Helo roared into the room followed by Lee. "One at a time ladies. One at a time. I may look big, but there's only so much Agathon to go around." Bobcat stood up and kissed Helo on the cheek as she grabbed the bag of food from his hands. Lee smiled awkwardly and ducked past them to set his bag on the desk. Kara watched him over Pie Face's head for the next few moments as he busied himself with the food. He hadn't looked in her direction once since he came back in, and he wore a peculiar half grin on his face that she could tell was barely containing the broad smile he very obviously wished to conceal. What was that bastard up to?

This was Apollo after all. He sucked at keeping secrets. Shortly after she met him, Lee was involved in an incident with her that involved a certain personal item of their instructor's being displayed without permission on the old general's statue in the quad that got them both thrown in the brig overnight. He could have gotten out of it by just admitting to his role in affair, but silence ensured neither one of them took the fall officially. Lee kept quiet all night, astonishing her, and when they were released the next day he assured her that he could be trusted. But as soon as the rumors started to circulate that Starbuck's new cohort in crime had done the deed, he was like a kid sitting on his hands to keep them from flying about. He went one whole day with his eyes lighting up anytime someone whispered as he went by before he told anybody that would listen that he was most certainly the rebel he was being made out to be. He'd never know how much trouble she had gone to in order to keep that fact from getting back to their superiors, but dammit if that mischievous light he got in his eyes wasn't completely worth it. And as much as he claimed otherwise, he couldn't hide it if he tried.

That blue twinkle usually amused her much more than the prank itself did, but tonight it made her nervous. He wasn't looking at her. That was never good. He told her once that his grandfather always said his guilty clients never looked him in the eye. So what exactly was Apollo guilty of?

"Starbuck!" Helo yelled. Her head turned suddenly towards him and he frowned. "I asked if you wanted a beer or the good stuff." Helo's red head was hanging off of him possessively, and now they were both staring at her. Helo looked quickly to Lee and then back at Kara and arched an eyebrow. Her eyes widened for a split second before she looked around the room to see everyone staring at her, including Lee. Frakkity frak frakkin' frak.

"Come on, Karl," she said leaning back in her chair and smiling easily, "you know I start off with nothing less than two shots of the good stuff!" She laughed deeply and Helo smiled as Bobcat played with his tags, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Lee smirk. Frakkin' flyboy was making her angry. And he damn well knew it, too!

"Alright, here you go, Trigger." Helo placed two shots of whatever cheap brown liquor they had in front of her, and Lee chose this moment to finally make his way to the table and sit down across from her.

She looked down and contemplated her shots for a moment. Better put on the Starbuck face. That's what the people came to see. When she looked up she found two blue eyes staring at her. Whatever game he was playing with her, she intended to win it, so she held his gaze but spoke to Helo. "Better make that one more." When three small glasses sat in front of her and all eyes in the room rested on her, she downed each drink one after the other without so much as making a face.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Pie Face shouted while pointing at Kara. Helo clapped above his head and whooped while Lee and Bobcat followed his lead. The quiet blonde, Nanny, simply stared and mouthed the word "damn."

"Starbuck, marry me?" Pie Face was on his knees sliding toward her chair. He took her hand and made to kiss it, but she yanked it from his grip and smacked him on the head.

"Godsdammit, Randy!" She hit him again and pointed towards his chair. Pie Face sheepishly got up and found his seat. Helo was doubled over and shaking with laughter, but Lee just smiled, shook his head and patted him on the back as if to say "better luck next time."

* * *

An hour later and fifty odd cubits gone, Kara giggled and raked her winnings over the cards on the table in front of her. The alcohol had relaxed her and coaxed enough Starbuck out onto the surface to make the room hers. As if it would be anyone else's.

Helo threw his cards on the table and shook his head. "I need a beer break. You take anymore of my money and I'm gonna have to beg my dad for grocery cash. And you know I don't like talking to my father, much less asking him for something." Helo did his best to glare at Kara and let her know he meant business, but she just laughed and threw a piece of popcorn at him. "Fine, I'll just let you ask him then," Helo laughed and returned fire with a few pretzels.

While Helo got up to get more drinks, Kara looked around the small room jammed with laughter and people and furniture and smoke. It was totally trashed. Bottles and wrappers or boxes from food seemed to cover every flat surface, and she marveled that any of them could move so much as an inch without causing a domino-effect crash of the evidence of the night's merriment. Somehow Helo seemed to be able to rifle through the mess on the desk turned make-shift bar without looking too drunk or knocking a single bottle over. Who said flying Raptors took no finesse?

Pie Face suddenly laughed out loud and comfortably draped an arm over Nanny's shoulders. She smiled as she leaned in and said something softly just to him, and he laughed again. Kara had to chuckle. And gape. For some reason, Pie Face doing well with a girl – an attractive, reasonably intelligent girl at that – was something she didn't expect to see before graduation, or at least not without money changing hands. Lee seemed to be thinking the same thing, and he and Kara exchanged half amused, half impressed smiles and eyebrow raises before each of them abruptly looked away.

"Anybody else ready for another one?" Helo's question was met with the shooting up of five hands holding bottles or glasses. "Guess that means I'm the bar tender," he said to himself.

"Tell you what, Karl," Kara said with a grin. "If you really need that money you lost so badly, maybe we can work something out."

"I can't beat you at triad. I've tried, and you always walk away with my cash."

"Who said anything about cards? You've got drinks to serve, and I need to be entertained, so let's make a deal. I'll give you five cubits if you lose that shirt while you tend bar." Kara's grin was almost wider than her face. Helo held her gaze for a moment, considering before his face broke out into a grin that matched her own. Without a word he removed his tanks and threw them onto the nearest bed. He put his hands on his hips and stood there posing while the room looked on in seeming disbelief.

Helo broke his pose and found a bottle opener to quickly open two bottles before he stopped and put his hands on his hips once more. "Five cubits for all this," he said indicating his chest with an up and down motion of his hands.

"Maybe if you're good I'll give you a nice, fat tip." Kara smirked for as long as she could before a loud cackle rolled out of her with the force of a caged animal breaking free. Pie Face and Nanny joined in, but the red head frowned. Lee seemed to be finding the exchange amusing, but he looked at Kara with his eyes slowly narrowing for just a little too long after his short chuckle. She had him. He could be a smug-ass, cocky little bitch if he wanted to, but she could still rile him into jealousy, and that made her feel more like Starbuck than she had all night.

Helo made the rest of the drinks and somehow managed to reassure his date at the same time. Kara had to hand it to him. He sure had a way with women, because by the time he was putting a bottle in front of Lee and a glass in front of her, Bobcat was smiling and pouting at him. Apparently Helo deprivation caused mood swings in red heads.

Kara tossed Helo ten cubits and slumped back in her chair. She closed her eyes while she drank two mouthfuls of brown liquor, and when she opened them she caught Lee glance away from her hastily. She had been trying for the past hour to read anything other than mischief from the usually transparent Apollo, but tonight he was more like tinted windows. Shit, she had taught him too well. She figured she had little chance of stopping him in whatever he was doing or going to do – he could be so damned stubborn sometimes – so she might as well not worry about it.

Lee got up for another beer and Kara noticed not for the first time that night that this had turned into a couples evening, a six headed monster. Bobcat was in Helo's lap, and Pie Face and Nanny were on his bed talking softly. It's not like nights like this had never happened before. She got paired with Lee automatically in these situations. The scenario would usually begin with fun and drinks with a group but divide as the evening went on into pairs ignoring the group and acting as if they were alone. By the time Starbuck and Apollo realized they were only talking to each other it was too late.

That's what happened the night of Semo's party. Only she realized as soon as they left campus. Helo had shown up at their bunk room alone but said he had to make a quick stop at Hockney Hall before they left for Brim's. They stopped and he came out of the building laughing with a red head, arms around each other's waists. This was a double date by way of sneak attack, and completely Helo's doing. He knew that was the night Kara had planned to pull her prank on Apollo and he had 40 cubits riding on its success, so why the hell would he bring a date? Helo had to get his kicks too, she guessed, but Kara fumed and "frakked" under her breath for most of the walk.

By the time they reached the bar, Kara had decided to make the most of it – she could have had a much worse date – and have as much fun with her best friend as possible before she made him pay. Of course that meant she would have to be incredibly drunk. Everything was set, so she just had to stick to Lee and let it play out. Why not get wasted and enjoy the Apollo Humiliation Show that much more?

But it hadn't exactly gone as she planned. Oh, no, the next morning turned out almost exactly as she had planned; it was the night that had gone off course. She had drunk too much. Simple as that. She had made sure Lee had enough at Brim's to cause alcohol-related amnesia, but she hadn't exactly restrained herself. Once they got to the party the ambrosia flowed and Starbuck never turned down the good stuff. Especially if it was free. Playing that damn game was where it all went to hell. Helo left with his date, and Kara was too drunk to object to a stupid game that she was sure she could make add to Lee's punishment.

She remembered "Sir" as an almost harmless, juvenile academy truth and dare game that got old after they made it through their first year. And it had started that way with ten people in the kitchen that night. Murphy said "Sir, yes sir" and got the game going by revealing which instructor he would rather frak. The game went from person to person, each answering a potentially embarrassing question or saying "Sir, no sir" and acting on a dare. The first round was fairly tame with cadets taking shots or dancing ridiculously or, in Lee's case, pretending to be a horse for two timed minutes. By the last round, no one was answering questions anymore and they had the rest of the party goers watching what stupid, crazy thing one of them would have to do next.

Nope. No. Nuh uh. She was not going to think about it. It was bad enough that she left her only good, date night bra on the floor of Semo's kitchen, but she had to sneak into Boyd Hall the next day and tear apart Freight Train's rack to find her fleet ID card.

Lee was looking at her again. He was grinning at her like the cat that ate the canary. That was it. No more of this couples crap.

"Hey, let's get another game going. It's not even close to curfew, and I'm out of here if I have to watch Randy flirt anymore."

"Gee, I'd love to play some cards, but someone already cleaned me out," said Helo with mock enthusiasm.

"Them's the breaks then, Karl. Guess you'll be a spectator."

"I'm out of money too," Nanny said.

"Okay, fine. New game then."

They all looked at each other for a moment. Creativity was clearly not a requirement for admittance to the academy. Helo spoke up with a twinkle in his eye and a smirk. He caught Kara's gaze. "How about we go old school, and play a nice game of—"

"Strip triad!" Pie Face suggested, no, shouted triumphantly. Evidently his success with the blonde chick had gone to his head.

"Careful there, Helo. I've already got your money and the shirt off your back. You feel like losing more?"

"We'll see who ends up naked," Helo answered.

"Uh huh, we'll sure see something… even if it's just a bit disappointing."

"Don't worry, Kara. I'll help you out of your bra soon enough," Lee said without a trace of false bravado.

Frak.

Kara was by no means a blusher, but it took every ounce of self control she had to keep her eyes from going so wide they could pop out of her head. She focused her eyes on Lee's and didn't dare break the stare. No way was that bastard going to get the satisfaction of seeing her squirm. Oh, but the look of arrogant triumph in his eyes told her everything his voice and words hinted at was true.

He knew.

Frak.


End file.
